Prison law

“The degree of civilisation in a society is revealed by entering its prisons.”
– Fyodor Dostoyevsky

1MCB Chambers has always had at its heart a strong ethos of fearlessly protecting people’s rights. We firmly believe that it is particularly important to challenge the decisions of those in authority when those decisions unlawfully or unfairly infringe the rights of those who have been deprived of their liberty.

Recognised by Legal 500 (2014) for its “niche expertise”, the prison law team is a growing team in chambers. Its members provide first-class representation at all levels, from adjudication and Parole Board hearings, to judicial review challenges.

Our experience covers:

prisoners’ human rights;

prison conditions and the treatment of prisoners;

discrimination;

categorisation/recategorisation;

adjudications;

the IEP system;

segregation;

safeguarding, including the use of Rule 45;

access to healthcare;

sentence calculation;

release and recall;

licence conditions;

statutory compensation for miscarriages of justice;

unlawful detention.

Individual members of the team also have expertise in other related fields, including crime, actions against the police, immigration, community care, mental health, discrimination and public law, enabling them to provide clients with well-rounded advice and representation.